[C320-list] Air in Water Heater?

[Larry Frank]

Tim,

I would suggest you have a leak somewhere.  The whale fittings used in the
water system can and do develop leaks and some can be quite small and very
difficult to find as they are hidden.  I also had a split in the red hot
water line one time too but that wasn¹t a SMALL leak. It have a more
mature boat and several times I have experienced the pump won¹t shut off
problem and every time it was a leak on the pressure water side.

All this talk about getting all the air out of the hot water tank really
concerns me.  If you are successful then you will be depending 100% on the
pressure relief valve to release water when the water heats up and
expands.  That is what it is there for and SHOULD work.  However if there
is some air at the top of the tank as the water expands the air will be
compressed and the tank won¹t overpressure in the first place.

I don¹t think air trapped in the pressure system will keep the pump
running for long.  Once it gets compressed the pump will shut off.  It
could mean that the pump will run for a few seconds after the faucet is
closed, but not continuously.  The real problem with air in on the
pressure side is you will get sputtering until all the air is purged which
isn¹t a problem as I see it.

Larry
WindSwept
C320 #246  

On 6/9/16, 2:20 PM, "Timothy Osburn" <tosburn1958 at gmail.com> wrote:

>My water pump won't shut off after I close the taps.  I've checked all the
>outlets in the head, cockpit shower and galley sink and as far as I can
>tell, they are closed.  When I turn the water on in the galley sink, it
>will sputter and then I get a steady flow of water (although it might
>sputter again from time to time ) .  Looking at the ShurFlo documentation,
>it sounds like there might be air in the water heater that is causing this
>( it could also be a leak somewhere ).  Is there a way to vent air in the
>heater?  Should I just try and continue to run water through the system
>until the air in the water heater is displaced?  Any tips would be
>appreciated.  Thanks.